20+ Ways I Save Money as a 27-Year-Old in Los Angeles

Being in your twenties is all about trying to “figure it out” while realizing no one has it figured out. For me right now, that includes how to spend and save money while living in one of the most expensive cities in the country. Rent is at least $1,000 a month, smoothies are $15, and it just feels like $100 disappears when you step outside your apartment.

Saving money is…simply not fun. These saving tips are not very fun, either. We live in a consumerist society and quite frankly, I may have an Amazon problem and love spending money on restaurants and travel.

I use my Google Sheets budget template and try to cut down on expenses where I can, but we all prioritize different things when it comes to our spending. There are some things that I don’t spend money on at all that other people love to splurge on. Everyone has different hobbies and lifestyles, these are just some tips and choices I make to save money.

**As always, I’m just the daughter of accountants and these are just tips that work for me. Please consult a licensed financial advisor if you need help getting out of debt.**

 

SAVING MONEY ON THE ESSENTIALS

I have a roommate
Housing is the biggest cost in LA and it doesn’t make sense to live alone until I’m making a lot more money since it costs at least $2,500 for a nice one-bedroom apartment.

I save part of my paycheck automatically
The easiest way for me to not spend money is if I don’t even see it. Over 25% of my paycheck goes straight to my 401(k) and my Health Savings Account (HSA). This ensures I am already saving for my future and any unpredictable medical expenses.

I pay my credit cards off in full every month
If I don’t pay my credit card bill off in full every month, then I’d be spending extra money, in the form of interest, to my bank, and I’m not about that.

I switch car insurance companies
I’ve had Geico car insurance since 2019, but the cost has slowly risen for the past few years. I got quotes from the other insurance providers to find a lower price, so I switched to Progressive and saved $412 a year.

I create calendar reminders to avoid late fees
In 2020, I left my car in LA and went back home for the pandemic. I forgot to pay for my annual car registration fee for a few months and the late fee was over $150 and I said never again. I have calendar reminders for rent, my credit card payments, auto registration, as well as my driver’s license and passport renewal.

 

SAVING MONEY ON FOOD

I know what I have in the fridge
Food costs money, and therefore wasting food is wasting money. I try my best not to throw away any food in the fridge and know that if I’m spending more than $60 at the grocery store in a week, I’ve over-purchased and am going to have to make an effort to eat at home or freeze leftovers.

I use Too Good to Go
Sometimes I don’t want to cook, but I don’t want to spend $30 for a meal at a restaurant. I’ll check the Too Good to Go app to see which restaurants around me are participating and selling day-old food for $5-$10 per bag. So many places in LA participate (think Eataly, Prince Street Pizza, Blue Bottle, Sidecar Donuts, Alfred Coffee) and you never know what you’re going to get!

I go to happy hour
I love an early dinner! A lot of restaurants have happy hour menus even on weekends, so I’ve started taking advantage of those.

I shop at Grocery Outlet 
A lot of the food items at Grocery Outlet are legitimately 50% off what they cost at Ralph’s! I actually find that Grocery Outlet has great deals on hair care and general wellness products from popular brands.

I bring snacks and pack my lunch
If I’m on the go, I’ll bring a protein bar with me just in case I get hungry so I don’t have to buy food. If I meal prepped but can’t be at home during lunch, I’ll pack my meal and bring it with me with an ice pack so I don’t have to buy food.

I use coupons at the grocery store
Growing up, my family always used coupons at the grocery store. It doesn’t sound like much, but a dollar off here and there on products you were going to buy anyway does add up when you’re going to the grocery store every week. It’s easier than ever with mobile apps because you can just clip a coupon on your phone and it will apply it to your purchase at the store. Sometimes Ralph’s even mails me physical coupons for products they’ve noticed I frequently buy. I’ll also check the sale rack (yes, there are sale racks even in grocery stores!) for any discounts.

 

SAVING MONEY ON TRAVEL

I use the Chevron gas app
If I don’t go to Costco for gas, I stop at a Chevron. They have a rewards app and you earn points when you buy gas through it, so you can get deals like $1 off per gallon. I assume Arco and Shell may also have something similar now so check them out!

I have credit cards with travel rewards
My parents live in the Seattle area, so I usually fly home a few times a year, and so the first rewards credit card that I got after I had built up my credit score in college was the Alaska Airlines Visa. This helps me earn points that I can redeem for free flights (plus taxes and fees) with Alaska Airlines and their One World Alliance partners. I also have the Chase Sapphire Preferred card (referral link) that I’ll use for dining out, since they give 3x points for that and then I’ll use it on any non-Alaska/partner travel expenses.

Sometimes I buy points
When I went to Europe with my sister in 2023, I didn’t quite have enough points for my roundtrip flight to London on British Airways. I saw Alaska was having a sale on their points, and I bought some. Instead of paying $1000 for my flights, I just bought the ~$300 worth of points so I’d have enough points to cover my flight.

I book hotels through my credit card
When I went to Las Vegas last year with my mom (blog post here), I booked the Excalibur hotel through Alaska and that got me an extra 2,000 points. I haven’t booked a hotel through the Chase travel portal, but I know they give like 3x points for that.

 

SAVING MONEY ON SHOPPING

I use Rakuten to save money when shopping online
Rakuten (referral link) is an online savings portal that works with hundreds of brands to offer an additional percentage of savings when you shop. Savings are paid out quarterly if you meet the $5 threshold. You have to shop through their website, app, or install their Google Chrome extension to opt into the savings. I usually shop when stores are already having sales (4th of July, Labor Day, Black Friday) and then combine those deals with Rakuten savings. For example, if a pair of shoes are $20 off at Nike.com and Nike is also 15% cash back on Rakuten, you can save a good amount of money.  This can easily add up if you shop a lot and some stores offer up to 20% off during the holiday season!

I go to dollar stores
I didn’t grow up with dollar stores, but in LA, there’s a bunch of them! If you need seasonal holiday decor, birthday party supplies, or gift bags look no further than the 99 Cent Store or Dollar Tree. I usually get paper plates, napkins, cups, plastic tablecloths, and serving items for when we host events. It’s so much cheaper than Target! The new Dollar Tree near me has an incredible selection of candy, so I will stop there on the way to the movie theater.

I cancel my free trials
If I sign up for a free trial for x amount of days/weeks/months, I immediately put it in my calendar to cancel the trial before it charges me. If I do forget to cancel, I contact their customer service and usually am able to get refunded.

I go to warehouse sales
I am lucky to live in Southern California, where there are a ton of warehouse and sample sales happening all the time. I go to Alternative Retail in Orange County and Eclipse Sample Sale in Los Angeles, along with occasional other pop-up sales.

I joined my local Buy Nothing Facebook group
Facebook groups are definitely not dead! My Buy Nothing group has given me a place to get rid of a bunch of stuff I don’t need and find stuff for free! I’ve gotten books and sunglasses, and people are giving away all sorts of things all the time! Still sad I missed the USWNT jerseys in my group by like 20mins :(. Just search for Buy Nothing _(insert your city/neighborhood)_ on Facebook.

I’m not subscribed to my favorite clothing stores’ email marketing newsletters
If I don’t know about a sale, then I don’t shop it. I also just don’t shop online because nothing fits right so I prefer to try things on in-store than have to go through returns. As someone who works in advertising, I also know the more you search for something online, the more ads you will get for it.

I shop at Costco
You get the best prices at Costco, from gas to food. It’s hard to shop for a household of 1 or 2, but I’ll buy food I eat regularly in bulk at Costco, and it is so much cheaper than at the average LA grocery store. Costco also sells a lot of great clothes from well-known brands, and I know a few of my friends have used Costco travel for their honeymoons. At $65 for the basic membership, I think it’s worth it if you live near a warehouse.

I search for influencer discount codes
If a brand I want to buy isn’t currently having a sale, I look at their tagged Instagram posts to find an influencer with a code. It’s probably only 5-15% off, but that’s better than nothing! This doesn’t work for big brands like Nike or Madewell, but moreso younger, trendy brands that focus on social media marketing, like AG1, Cymbiotika, ELMNT, Dossier, Better Help, and Branch Basics.

I buy secondhand
I thrift clothes at places like Goodwill, Crossroads, and Buffalo Exchange. I get books from used bookstores or public library book sales. I also love using Facebook Marketplace to furnish my apartment and that’s where I purchased our standing living room lamp, blanket basket, and my bedside table. Sometimes people are selling brand new items for half the cost, ask my sister about her Dr. Dennis Gross LED Facemask. It’s insane what people will give away in big cities like LA and NYC.

I give myself “no spend” challenges
This obviously doesn’t work for things like groceries, but I did a no-spend year on clothes a few years ago (read about it here) and I’m doing it again this year. Sometimes I do a no spend month for restaurants and force myself to cook at home. This is an easy way for me to save a few hundred bucks a year.

 

SAVING MONEY ON ACTIVITIES

I use ClassPass to try different workout classes
ClassPass is a great deal in a big city like Los Angeles where most single drop-in classes cost $30-$40! One of my favorite pilates studios is $40 a class, but it’s usually around 10 credits on ClassPass, which equates to about $20.7 with my plan. Read my review of ClassPass after 80 classes here.

I get cheap haircuts
I’m not very high maintenance about my hair and my mom would just cut it for me when I lived at home. Now I go to places like Hair Masters, Fantastic Sam’s, and Supercuts for a $30 shampoo and cut. I don’t dye my hair or ask for any specific style most of the time, so I don’t feel the need to go to a salon that charges $80 for a trim.

I go on walks or runs to socialize with friends
I feel like whenever I want to see my friends, we spend money. Going on walks or runs is a free thing to do and you get your steps in, do it at sunset or sunrise to get some great photo ops. Do we end up going somewhere to eat afterwards? Sometimes yes, but sometimes we don’t!

I use Groupon
For some reason, I haven’t been a huge Groupon girl until lately, but there are some great deals! I booked a whale/dolphin watching boat tour in Orange County with my mom and it was fun! If you’re looking for self-care, there’s always deals on things like massages. Groupon is also on Rakuten, so there’s even more savings!

I share a Spotify account with my sister
I’ll never know my true Spotify Wrapped, but that’s okay with me. For the most part, I feel like we’re listening at different times, so we haven’t had a major issue because we can be listening at the same time if one of us is listening to downloaded music/podcasts offline.

I use Gametime for cheap tickets
I’m not sure if it’s only in bigger cities, but the Gametime app has cheap tickets to concerts, sports games, theater shows, and more. We used it to buy $15 Dodgers tickets on the day of when my dad was visiting LA a few years ago.